Flight Design GMBH CTSW accident near Joliet, Illinois, July 5, 2025
On July 5, 2025 at about 7:32 pm local time, a 2005 Flight Design GMBH CTSW, registered N646MA, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing near Joliet, Illinois (Joliet Rgnl airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during the crosswind landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 5, 2025 · about 7:32 pm local time · cases in 2025
- Place
- Joliet, Illinois · Joliet Rgnl · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Flight Design GMBH CTSW, built 2005 · all CTSWs on the register
- Registration
- N646MA · registry record · serial 05-11-07
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that he conducted a straight in approach to runway 31. The pilot stated that he chose runway 31 because the intersecting grass runway (4/22) was closed due to blimp operations that were being conducted on the airfield. Shortly after touchdown, a sudden gust of wind relaunched the airplane into the air. The pilot stated that the wind gust was so strong that he could not keep the airplane aligned with the runway. The airplane settled onto the runway and exited the paved runway surface to the left. The nose landing gear dug into the soft ground and the airplane nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing. The reported wind was from 210° at 13 kts, gusting to 18 kts. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operations.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Nose over/nose down during landing
- Loss of control in flight during landing defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Directional control › Not attained/maintained
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Wind › Crosswind › Contributed to outcome
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; single-engine sea
- Flight time: 3,262 hours in all; 36 in the last 90 days; 17 in the last 30 days; 3,262 as pilot in command; 0 on instruments
- Last flight review: June 28, 2025
- Medical certificate: BasicMed (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 662 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, October 4, 2024
- Maximum gross weight: 1,322 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 912ULS (piston); 662 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 40C Watervliet MI at 5:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 13/3, 2,821 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 210° at 13 knots, gusting 18
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 6,000 ft
- Temperature: 93°F (34°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 29.99 inHg
- Observation at 2:15 pm from KJOT
Weather report (METAR): METAR KJOT 051915Z AUTO 21013G18KT 180V260 10SM SCT060 SCT090 34/19 A2999 RMK AO2 T03360189=
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Photographs from the investigation 2 pictures from the NTSB's docket, as the NTSB released them
Photograph 1 – The airplane as it came to rest at the accident site
Photograph 3 – Close up view of the right wingThe NTSB's photographs with the NTSB's captions, at screen size. Open a picture to see it full size or to report one that should not be shown.
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
2 documents, released by the NTSB on September 18, 2025. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 10 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Accident Photographs | PDF, 3 pages · our copy | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N646MA on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Flight Design Gmbh CTSW 181 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Engine: Rotax 912ULS 62 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Joliet Regional · nearest airport
- Watervliet Municipal · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Illinois 2,118 since 1982 · 251 in the last ten years
- Illinois 8,071 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/CEN25LA238.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.